Another leading firm is leaving Newbury
Business announces its relocating to Reading
A leading international company is moving away from Newbury – while another is making redundancies.
Civil engineers Amec Foster Wheeler is relocating its 100 employees from its current home at the Newbury Business Park on the A4 to its Reading offices in Shinfield Park.
The company, which has been in the town for two years, said it was moving for financial reasons following its recent merger.
Meanwhile, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions – based in Kiln Lane just off the A4 in Newbury – has confirmed it is making around 20 of its staff redundant as part of an ‘operational change’.
Just three months ago Bayer, one of Newbury’s largest employers, announced it was leaving the town after 32 years and relocating its 470 staff to Green Park, Reading.
Amec Foster Wheeler’s departure has prompted fresh concerns over whether Newbury is still seen as an attractive place for businesses to operate.
After the news about Bayer came to light, Richard Deal, a director of commercial property specialist Deal Varney, raised concerns over a lack of employment land in the town and said that Newbury was in danger of becoming a dormitory town if it didn’t keep up with towns like Reading.
Mr Deal reiterated his concerns on hearing about Amec Foster Wheel-er’s relocation.
“This is the fifth company to move out of Newbury in some two years, and one of a truly international standing,” he said.
“It appears Reading is marketing itself very well and offers a better environment both in terms of communications and surroundings, especially with four first-class business parks and one in planning.
“West Berkshire needs to wake up to the idea that business is the driver of the economy and something to be treasured and encouraged.
“In my view the only way to encourage business to stay or relocate here is to offer the facility, which is land, and not let everything go the way of housing.
“There seems to be no prospects of change. There is little if any land left for office development and a dwindling supply for industrial use.
“In terms of rent and price, the Newbury market remains competitive, especially when looking at the Reading and east Berkshire markets, so there has to be more to this apparent employment drain than overheads.”
Amec Foster Wheeler’s operational director, Paul Milverton said: “Our Reading offices are undersubscribed and it made sense to move the Newbury operation there. The main driver here was financial.”
Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions managing director, Jon Lawes, said: “We are making the operational changes needed to support our growth aspirations.
“We predict that 20 people may leave the business, but we’re creating approximately 40 more jobs across our locations.
“Throughout this process we have actively consulted with our employees and as a result, the impact of these changes are limited.
